scottish power...

rcourtney24

hi everyone,

i really need some advice.

i live in a 5 bed student house with another 4 students...

scottish power have told us that for the 8 months we've been here, we've accumulated £900 in electricity charges, and £700 in gas.

does this sound about right to anyone!? it sounds ridiculously high to me, but when i try to speak to them they fob me off with "well you clearly can't read the meter correctly"

it just seems like a LOT to pay for (barely) 8 months.

any help would be really appreciated
thanks xx

Mrs_Thrify

Hiya, your use is high, but then if you have 5 tv's, 5 laptops, 5 electric fire's and 5 showers. Use of cooker, each! It will be more than a family house. I will not start on the CH.

rcourtney24

we have 1 tv in the living room, and one in two of the bedrooms. there's only 3 computers in the house (i use my housemates and dont have my own, my other housemate uses the uni computers), we don't have electric fires or anything. we're pretty good with switching lights off and things, and we have one electric shower and one shower running straight from the mains.

i was sure it would be higher than an average family home but it just seems excessively high, the CH isnt on that much either, we're all northern so pretty resistant to the cold lol.

dannyjebb

have you looked at what you actually used? figures for gas in kwh and figures for electric in kwh? is the £1600 an estimated bill? when i was at uni 5 of us paid £18 a month each

JennyR68

rcourtney24 wrote: »

hi everyone,

does this sound about right to anyone!? it sounds ridiculously high to me, but when i try to speak to them they fob me off with "well you clearly can't read the meter correctly"

Is it an estimated bill? Are you trying to tell them your meter readings and they are refusing to take them?

Scottish_Power

Hi courtney24

From what you have described, it is very possible to use this level of gas and electricity in a 5 bedroomed house with 5 students. What you also need to remember is that the last 3 months have been exceptionally cold. The next 4 months may not be as cold therefore this may bring the average monthly consumption for gas and electricity down to around £175 for the full year. This would seem right for the occupancy of this property.

The first thing to check is the meter readings that have been used to bill the account, i.e. has the account been billed from an accurate meter reading and is the latest meter reading also accurate. Double check the readings on both the gas and electricity meters with what we are billing you to.

How often is the central heating on?
Do any of the students use electric plug in heaters?
How many computers are used within the house?
How often is the washine machine/tumble dryer used?
How many TV'S/games consoles are in the property and how often are they used?
Are the light bulbs in the property energy efficient?

These are just a few areas for consideration.

Have a look at the link below to see if there are any areas where you can be more energy efficient:

http://www.scottishpower.co.uk/Home_Energy/Energy_Efficiency/Top_10_Tips/

I hope I have been of help. If you need any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind Regards

Colin @ ScottishPower